“For you I will be a chrysanthemum, Supernova, urgent star.” A telling line from Anita Lane’s “Blume”, which served as the soundtrack to Alexandre Herchcovitch’s Fall show. The floral, the galactic, the logos and the chaos were all quite palpable themes on that runway, replete with some of the most sculptural pieces the Brazilian designer has ever sent out. It opened with a decidedly elegant white sleeveless dress with an exaggerated peplum. At first, and despite the good taste of the first look, there was a fear that this would lead to yet another overplayed foray into peplum-play, when in fact it was much more than that. Herchcovitch played with the idea of the blooming and withering stalk by peeling back the layers on dress tops by slicing the garments right down the center, leaving one half on the bodice, the other to drape on bustled skirts in gorgeous rosette effects.

It’s a shame all that innovation was mired by the drab color palette. With the heavy volume on those skirts, and the faded matte of the fabrics, eggplant never looked so mumsy. Ironic that this verdant story was shot through with such soporific prints. He fared better with a stunning black and white striped dress on Daiane Conterato with a top that zipped down the middle to expose a matching bustier beneath. That peeling back of layers was much more ‘verdant’ in nature than any of the fabrics, printed or otherwise. Though, the shoes were kind of terrific. An otherwise understated pump with a leaf strap slapped across the foot, the stem curlicued around the back of the heel.